We heard some discussion at the Tour of Turkey last week about the confusion surrounding the ability of riders from teams such as SpiderTech, FDJ and UnitedHealthcare to entire domestic races while back in North America. The Canadian Cycling Association has now issued a statement clarifying the situation:

The intent of this memo is to clarify the rule governing the participation of riders belonging to a UCI ProTeam and Professional Continental Team at non-UCI events in Canada. This will apply to events on the national and provincial calendars.

Riders belonging to a UCI ProTeam or Professional Continental Team can take part in any non-UCI races in which riders can register individually. Riders must, however, observe the following:

• They must register individually (as independents);• A maximum of 3 riders from any one team can participate in the same event;• They may not wear their team jersey (they must wear a neutral jersey)

For non-UCI races where participation must be done in teams, riders belonging to a UCI ProTeam or Professional Continental Team must be a part of a provincial/territorial selection team.

Riders must, however, observe the following:

• They must register as members of a provincial/territorial selection team;• A maximum of 3 riders from one team can be part of the selection team;• They must wear the jersey of the selection team